St Gregory writing inspired by the Holy Spirit with two copyists acting under the dictation of the Pope

From St Gregory, Epistulae

Early 12th century

Dijon - BM - ms. 0180, folio 001

Abbaye Notre-Dame, Cîteaux

Mass of St Gregory

From Missel de Philippe de Luxembourg

1495 - 1503

Mans (Le) - BM - ms. 0254, folio 057

Mass of St Gregory

From Heures à l'usage de Paris

c. 1490

Moulins - BM - ms. 0079, folio 098

Giacomo Cavedone 1577-1660

St Gregory the Great

about 1640

Oil on canvas

114.3 x 95.3 cm

English Heritage, Chiswick House, Chiswick, London

John Rogers Herbert 1810–1890

Saint Gregory Teaching His Chant

1845

Oil on canvas

83.5 x 119 cm

The Royal Academy of Arts, London

"Rather than Augustine, the true father of medieval European eschatology was Pope Gregory the Great, the second most-quoted author in Julian’s Prognosticon.

Gregory set the eschatological tone for the entire period, through his Dialogues, homilies, and biblical exegesis. Presented in an accessible question-and-answer format, enriched with homely anecdotes, his Dialogueswere especially popular.

They were translated into Greek in the eighth century and Old English in the late ninth century, with a personal preface written by King Alfred himself. Book 4 of the Dialogues, which provided a summa on the afterlife and the end times, was particularly influential.

Its imagery and doctrine permeate the Merovingian Vision of Barontus. When Wetti, a monk at Reichenau in the early ninth century, sensed the approach of death, he asked his fellow monks to read to him from the Dialogues.

Gregory also guided Byzantine contemplation of the Last Things, especially as the seventh most frequently cited author in theSynagoge of Paul of Evergetis (d. 1054),a widely-influential florilegium on the ascetic life which has shaped the consciousness of many generations of Orthodox Christians.

Part of the appeal of Gregory’s Dialogues lay in its transmission of “tales useful for the soul.” Such edifying tales originated in ascetic circles, but circulated broadly, and tales in early medieval collections began to reflect the everyday concerns of lay Christians living in the world, as well as those of monastic men and women.

The stories run the gamut of eschatological anxieties, including the efficacy of almsgiving and prayers for the dead, resuscitation of the dead, the particular judgment of the soul, the struggle for the soul between angels and demons, interim afterlife zones, and the particulars of otherworld punishment and reward.

Written in simple language, they impressed their teachings on sin, repentance, judgment, and the afterlife on the minds of hearers in concrete, unforgettable terms.

Like the monk Wetti on his deathbed, Christians throughout the ages have derived both compunction and consolation from these short, homely tales of the death and afterlife fate of both ordinary and extraordinary people."

As well as theology the contribution of St Gregory to liturgy especially the proper celebration of the Eucharist. was also immense

Of Music and Chant he wrote:

"For the voice of melody, whenever it is moved by the intention of the heart, is made thereby to return again to the heart by the agency of Almighty God, so that it pours the mysteries of prophecy or the grace of compunction into the intent mind. Whence it is written:

“The sacrifice of praise shall glorify me: and there is the way by which I will show him the salvation of God” (Ps 49:23).

As in the Latin salutare, so in Hebrew Jesus is meant.

Furthermore, the way of revelation of Christ is in the sacrifice of praise, because while compunction is poured out through the melody, a way is opened in our hearts whereby we can finally approach Christ, as He speaks of the revelation of Himself." (In Ez. hom. I, 15)

"When we attend to the needs of those in want, we give them what is theirs, not ours. More than performing works of mercy, we are paying a debt of justice" (Saint Gregory the Great, Pastoral Rule, 3:21)

"Holy Church has two lives: one that she lives in time, the other that she receives eternally; one with which she struggles on earth, the other that is rewarded in heaven; one with which she accumulates merits, the other that henceforth enjoys the merits earned. And in both these lives she offers a sacrifice: here below, the sacrifice of compunction, and in heaven above, the sacrifice of praise. Of the former sacrifice it is said: "The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit' (Ps 51[50]: 19); of the latter it is written: "Then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and in whole burnt offerings' (Ps 51[50]: 21).... In both, flesh is offered, since the sacrifice of the flesh is the mortification of the body, up above; the sacrifice of the flesh is the glory of the resurrection in praise to God. In heaven, flesh will be offered as a burnt holocaust when it is transformed into eternal incorruptibility, and there will be no more conflict for us and nothing that is mortal, for our flesh will endure in everlasting praise, all on fire with love for him"

"[T]he faithlessness of Thomas was far more useful to us, as regards faith, than the faith of the other disciples. While, in fact, Thomas is brought back to faith through touch, our mind is consolidated in faith with the overcoming of all doubt, Thus the disciple, who doubted and touched, became a witness to the reality of the Resurrection" (Saint Gregory the Great, XL Homiliarum in Evangelia lib. III, Homil. 26, 7: P.L. 76, 1201)

It is entitled Mysticae Augustinensis Eremi sacrum gloriae decorisq. Theatrum (“Sacred display of the mystic glory and distinction of the Augustinian hermitage”). It is also called Arbor augustiniana (“The Augustinian tree”).

In the work Saint of Augustine of Hippo sits holding the Rule of his Order. Around him are representatives of the sacred and knightly orders associated with him, saints and martyrs, and eminent Augustinian friars and nuns, as well as his mother, Saint Monica

The sick man is Innocentius of Carthage, ex-advocate of the deputy prefecture of Carthage.

He was being treated for several anal fistulas, an extremely painful and debilitating condition

Augustine and his brother Alypius were witnesses to the events in Carthage

Innocentius was to undergo a very serious and dangerous operation. The prognosis was not good and it was feared that he would die under the knife. Prayers were said. On the day of the operation it was discovered that the fistulae were healed and no operation was required

Augustine then goes on to list and describe similar examples of healing through prayer and requests for intercessions through the Martyrs and saints in Carthage and beyond and in particular through the intervention of St Stephen, martyr

"To what do these miracles witness, but to this faith which preaches Christ risen in the flesh, and ascended with the same into heaven? For the martyrs themselves were martyrs, that is to say, witnesses of this faith, drawing upon themselves by their testimony the hatred of the world, and conquering the world not by resisting it, but by dying. For this faith they died, and can now ask these benefits from the Lord in whose name they were slain. For this faith their marvellous constancy was exercised, so that in these miracles great power was manifested as the result.

For if the resurrection of the flesh to eternal life had not taken place in Christ, and were not to be accomplished in His people, as predicted by Christ, or by the prophets who foretold that Christ was to come, why do the martyrs who were slain for this faith which proclaims the resurrection possess such power?

For whether God Himself wrought these miracles by that wonderful manner of working by which, though Himself eternal, He produces effects in time; or whether He wrought them by servants, and if so, whether He made use of the spirits of martyrs as He uses men who are still in the body, or effects all these marvels by means of angels, over whom He exerts an invisible, immutable, incorporeal sway, so that what is said to be done by the martyrs is done not by their operation, but only by their prayer and request; or whether, finally, some things are done in one way, others in another, and so that man cannot at all comprehend them—nevertheless these miracles attest this faith which preaches the resurrection of the flesh to eternal life."

Vivarini is known to have painted an altarpiece ("Pala di Santa Monica") dedicated to Saint Monica for the Venetian church of San Stefano, the Church of the Augustinians

It depicted scenes from the lives of St Monica and her son, St Augustine

Book 9 of St Augustine`s Confessions describes how he received baptism and discusses the life and virtues of his mother, St Monica

Monica was never a religious, even after the death of her husband Patrick

It contains with the following encomium:

"22. Finally, her own husband, now towards the end of his earthly existence, did she gain over unto You; and she had not to complain of that in him, as one of the faithful, which, before he became so, she had endured. She was also the servant of Your servants. Whosoever of them knew her, did in her much magnify, honour, and love You; for that through the testimony of the fruits of a holy conversation, they perceived You to be present in her heart. For she had been the wife of one man, had requited her parents, had guided her house piously, was well-reported of for good works, had brought up children, as often travailing in birth of them as she saw them swerving from You. Lastly, to all of us, O Lord (since of Your favour Thou sufferest Your servants to speak), who, before her sleeping in You, lived associated together, having received the grace of Your baptism, did she devote, care such as she might if she had been mother of us all; served us as if she had been child of all. ...

37. May she therefore rest in peace with her husband, before or after whom she married none; whom she obeyed, with patience bringing forth fruit unto You, that she might gain him also for You. And inspire, O my Lord my God, inspire Your servants my brethren, Your sons my masters, who with voice and heart and writings I serve, that so many of them as shall read these confessions may at Your altar remember Monica, Your handmaid, together with Patricius, her sometime husband, by whose flesh You introduced me into this life, in what manner I know not. May they with pious affection be mindful of my parents in this transitory light, of my brethren that are under You our Father in our Catholic mother, and of my fellow citizens in the eternal Jerusalem, which the wandering of Your people sighs for from their departure until their return. That so my mother's last entreaty to me may, through my confessions more than through my prayers, be more abundantly fulfilled to her through the prayers of many."

"3. And let us come to the last kind of restlessness, the anxiety of love. Here I cannot but look at the mother: this Monica! How many tears did that holy woman shed for her son’s conversion! And today too how many mothers shed tears so that their children will return to Christ! Do not lose hope in God’s grace! In the Confessions we read this sentence that a bishop said to St Monica who was asking him to help her son find the road to faith: “it is not possible that the son of so many tears should perish” (III, 12, 21). After his conversion Augustine himself, addressing God, wrote: “my mother, your faithful one, wept before you on my behalf more than mothers are wont to weep the bodily death of their children” (ibid., III, 11, 19).

A restless woman, this woman who at the end of her life said these beautiful words: “cumulatius hoc mihi Deus praestitit!” [my God has exceeded my expectations abundantly] (ibid., IX, 10, 26). God lavishly rewarded her tearful request! And Augustine was Monica’s heir, from her he received the seed of restlessness. This, then, is the restlessness of love: ceaselessly seeking the good of the other, of the beloved, without ever stopping and with the intensity that leads even to tears. "

The portrait of Pius X was commissioned shortly after the Pope`s election in 1903. It is in the tradition of Art Nouveau ("New Art"), the metaphor for the freedom and release sought by its practitioners and admirers from the weight of artistic tradition and critical expectations.

In France it was also known as Style Jules Verne, Le Style Métro, Art belle époque, and Art fin de siècle

The Pope was to die a mere 11 years after his election in 1914 and we commemorate the 100th anniversary of his death on 20 August 1914, the liturgical feast coming after

During his pontificate he railed against forces in Western Society which were too febrile and insubstantial to withstand those other forces which hurled Europe into two lengthy and savage holocausts in the bloodiest century in the history of Western Europe

The D`Alessandri photograph of the same year shows perhaps a less youthful figure than the flattering hand of Rasumny. See below

Fratelli D'Alessandri

Pope Pius X (Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto: 1835-1914)

1904

Bromide print

150 mm x 103 mm

The National Portrait Gallery, London

His election was quite extraordinary and out of place. He had literally came from nowhere and nothing.

When a deputation of nobles came from Palermo to Rome to beg the Pope to preserve their tradition of having as Archbishop an aristocrat and a Doctor of Theology, Pius replied:

"I know a curate who was neither a noble nor a Doctor of Theology who was appointed parish priest; that parish priest was made a Canon and then a Bishop; that Bishop who was neither a Doctor of Theology nor an aristocrat was created Cardinal and then elected Pope, and it is the Pope who is now speaking with you."

On Saturday, August 23, His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, will celebrate Mass at the Shrine of Cendrole near the parish Church of Riese. It was this shrine which was founded by the saint

The Pope`s sister married a "Parolin" and a number of her ibecame members of the clergy. One wonders if Cardinal Parolin is a distant relative of the Saint ?

There will be a diocesan pilgrimage to Rome on 8th - 10th September where there will be an audience with Pope Francis to mark the centenary (Wednesday 10th September)

Here are the pictures:

Entry in the Baptismal Register of the Parish of the Baptism of Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto (3rd June 1835)

Chaplain at Tombolo

Parish priest at Salzano

Handwritten page of the Catechism used by Don Sarto at Salzano

The three sisters of the Pope who came to Rome to keep house for him as well as when he was a parish priest and bishop: Anna, Maria and Rosa. Without them he would not have achieved what he did

Carducho was commissioned by the Order of the Carthusians at the Cartuja de Santa Maria de El Paular in Madrid to paint a cycle of 54 large canvases on the history of the Carthusian order

The Carthusian monk behind the cycle was one of the great Carthusians in Spain: Father Juan de Baeza (died 1641)

The works were for the large Gothic cloister in Madrid

The work records the meeting between St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) and Guigo I (1083-1136), who wrote the Carthusian Rule. Both are located at the entrance of the Chartreuse. The writing of the rule by Guigo was seen to be recognized by such a great figure as as Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Bernard of Clairvaux may well be the apotheosis of the monastic tradition in the medieval period.

In his day, he was one of the most powerful figures in Christendom. He was instrumental in securing the election of Innocent II to the papacy in preference to the antipope, Analectus II, and influenced the papacy when one of his disciples became Pope Eugene III in 1145

His sermons and writings still reverberate down the centuries

Here below we see the mystical tradition with which St Bernard is associated

Francisco Ribalta (1565 – 14 January 1628)

Cristo abrazando a San Bernardo

Christ embracing St Bernard of Clairvaux

1626

Oil on canvas

158 cm x 113 cm

Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

Christ leaves the cross for a moment to embrace Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, founder of the Cistercian Order.

The scene is inspired by a mystical vision of the saint, recouted in one of the most popular devotional books of the Baroque period: Flos Sanctorum, or Book of Life of the Saints by Peter Ribadeneyra and published in 1599.

St Bernard was the first to formulate the basic principles of mysticism, and laid the foundations of mysticism as a spiritual body of doctrine of the Catholic Church

In "De amore Dei" (De Diligendo Deo) St. Bernard shows that the manner of loving God is to love Him without measure and gives an account of the different degree of this love

""The reason for loving God," he says, "is God; the measure of this love is to love without measure."

"O holy and chaste love! O sweet and soothing affection! . . . It is the more soothing and more sweet, the more the whole of that which is experienced is divine. To have such love, means being made like God."

And also: "It is good for me, O Lord, to embrace Thee all the more in tribulation, to have Thee with me in the furnace of trial rather than to be without Thee even in heaven."

And the vision of Divine Love is a common theme in depictions of St Bernard as seen below

Anastagio Fontebuòni (1571–1626)

Visione di san Bernardo di Chiaravalle (detail)

Vision of St Bernard (detail)

1621

Oil on canvas

270 x 150 cm

Palazzo degli Alberti, Prato

Workshop of Fra Filippo Lippi

(ca. 1406–1469)

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Tempera and gold on wood

48.3 x 12.7 cm

The Metropolitan Museum, New York

It is thought that the above painting is from Santa Maria delle Carmine (of the Carmelite Order) in Florence

Below we see the statue of St Bernard in the Cathedral of St Vaast in Arras, Pas-de-Calais, France. It was executed by the French sculptor François Jouffroy 1806 - 1882 as one of eight marble statues originally destined for l'église Sainte-Geneviève in Paris before it was taken over, secularised and became the Panthéon

It was moved to Arras in 1934.

Below we see the photograph made of the statue when it was purchased from the Salon in 1877 by the French state

The saint was born in a chateau near Dijon, beside a village now known as Fontaine-lès-Dijon

He was born into a family of saints

His mother Alèthe de Montbard (1070-1107) is considered a saint and in 1250 her remains were translated to lie beside those of her son, St Bernard, in the monastery of Clairvaux

The manuscript book of hours ("The Ponchet Hours") is known to have been made for the French noblewoman Denise Poncher in Paris around 1500.

Her father served as treasurer of wars for the French crown and her uncle was bishop of Paris. Stephen Ponchet was Bishop from 1502 to 1519, and Minister of Justice under Louis XII

The cycle of illuminations begins with a miniature of the Virgin in a mandorla flanked by saints Barbara and Catherine. It is a firm recommendation to the reader of how she should keep these figures at the forefront of her devotions

In a 15th-century French biography of St Barbara it was stated that those who venerated her would not die without making confession and receiving extreme unction

She is often depicted in art as standing by a tower with three windows, carrying a palm branch and a chalice

Devotion to St. Catherine increased tremendously in Europe after the Crusades, and received additional veneration in France in the beginning of the fifteenth century, when it was said that she had appeared to Joan of Arc and, together with St. Margaret, had been divinely appointed Joan's adviser.

St. Catherine was the patroness of young maidens and female students. She was regarded as the holiest and most illustrious of the virgins of Christ.

The mandorla is a vesica piscis shaped aureola which surrounds the figures of Christ and the Virgin Mary in traditional Christian art.

In icons of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the mandorla is used to depict sacred moments which transcend time and space, such as the Resurrection, Transfiguration, and the Dormition of the Theotokos.

Here we see the Virgin surrounded by angels after her Assumption and coronation as Queen of Heaven

In Dante`s Paradiso Cantos 31 and 32, St Bernard of Clairvaux takes over the role of Beatrice in showing Dante the upper reaches of Heaven

In Canto 31, St Bernard directs Dante`s attention to the Virgin, Queen of Heaven. To gaze upon the face of Christ, one should first fix one`s gaze on His mother:

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Apostles in a circle, some looking upwards, below the Assumption of the Virgin

Red chalk, over stylus

281 millimetres x 377 millimetres

The British Museum, London

Francesco Conti 1681–1760

The Assumption of the Virgin

Oil on canvas

86 x 105 cm

Manchester City Galleries, Manchester, England

Jacob de Wit (1695-1754)

Assumption of the Virgin

Circa 1751

Watercolour on paper

18.5 cm x 23 cm

The Courtauld Gallery, London

"It was fitting that she, who had kept her virginity intact in childbirth, should keep her own body free from all corruption even after death. It was fitting that she, who had carried the Creator as a child at her breast, should dwell in the divine tabernacles. It was fitting that the spouse, whom the Father had taken to himself, should live in the divine mansions. It was fitting that she, who had seen her Son upon the cross and who had thereby received into her heart the sword of sorrow which she had escaped in the act of giving birth to him, should look upon him as he sits with the Father. It was fitting that God's Mother should possess what belongs to her Son, and that she should be honored by every creature as the Mother and as the handmaid of God."